# Clawd Mochi: a pixel-crab desk buddy for about $7

A 1.54in color screen in a 3D-printed case wiggles, blinks and squints like Claude Code's pixel-crab mascot. Your phone drives it over the board's own WiFi, with no cloud and no app.

- Category: Hardware (build)
- Made by: [yousifamanuel](https://github.com/yousifamanuel/clawd-mochi) on GitHub
- Original: https://github.com/yousifamanuel/clawd-mochi
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/clawd-mochi-a-desk-companion-with-a-pixel-crab-face

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Beginner
- AI-buildability: 4/5 (Mostly a flashed Arduino sketch with a short list of jumper wires and a printed case, so AI tools can handle most of the code and setup.)
- Time: A weekend
- Cost: $7–10
- Parts: ESP32-C3 Super Mini, ST7789 1.54in TFT 240x240, PLA filament
- Tools: soldering iron, 3D printer, computer for Arduino IDE

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Build sheet

- Controller: ESP32-C3 Super Mini
- Display: 1.54in ST7789 240x240
- Interface: Phone browser over WiFi
- Language: Arduino C++

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "Clawd Mochi: a pixel-crab desk buddy for about $7" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/clawd-mochi-a-desk-companion-with-a-pixel-crab-face

I want to build a desk companion on an ESP32-C3 Super Mini driving a 1.54in ST7789 240x240 SPI TFT. Write an Arduino sketch that shows looping pixel-art eyes with wiggle and blink animations, and hosts a WiFi access point with a mobile web page to switch expressions and adjust speed. Use hardware SPI on GPIO 8 and 10 with the display's RES, DC, CS and BL pins on GPIO 2, 1, 4 and 3.
```

## Story

Clawd Mochi is a fan build inspired by Clawd, the pixel-crab mascot of Claude Code. An ESP32-C3 Super Mini pushes a 240x240 ST7789 display over SPI. One Arduino sketch handles everything: wiggle, blink and squint animations, a boot logo reveal, and a Claude Code text view.

The board runs its own WiFi hotspot and serves a small web controller. Join it from a phone or laptop and you can switch expressions, change animation speed and background color, or draw on the screen in canvas mode. Nothing touches the internet.

The case is a two-part PLA or PETG print with a window for the display and a slot for the wires and USB-C cable. The maker puts the cost at about $7 to $8 and the build time at about an hour. A separate Clawd 3D model with no electronics is also published, for display use.

## Resources

- [Firmware and README](https://github.com/yousifamanuel/clawd-mochi)
- [Case model on MakerWorld](https://makerworld.com/en/models/2559505-clawd-mochi-physical-claude-code-mascot#profileId-2820000)
- [3D Clawd model on MakerWorld](https://makerworld.com/en/models/2576503-clawd-claude-code-mascot#profileId-2841183)
- [Arduino IDE](https://www.arduino.cc/en/software)

Tags: esp32-c3, tft display, 3d printed case, pixel art, web controller, desk companion

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